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Articles by Roberto Foa
Democratic norm erosion and partisanship in the United States
Formulae display:? Over the past generation, Americans have grown steadily more dissatisfied with the state of their democracy. Whereas twenty years ago opinion polls showed more than three-quarters of U.S. citizens content with how their political institutions were performing, today that figure is barely half of what it was ().
Opinion | What a Trump Presidency Means for U.S. Business
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load. What a Trump Presidency Means for U.S. Business Credit...Philotheus Nisch for The New York Times By Roberto Foa and Rachel Kleinfeld Dr. Foa is an associate professor in politics and public policy at the University of Cambridge. Dr. Kleinfeld is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
El auge de la ultraderecha: ¿una amenaza para la unidad occidental?
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El auge de la ultraderecha: ¿una amenaza para la unidad occidental?
En la última década hemos asistido a un ascenso electoral de los partidos de extrema derecha en países de todo el mundo, que ha afectado tanto a democracias occidentales ‒como Italia o los Países Bajos‒, como a sociedades en desarrollo ‒como India, Turquía o Brasil‒. Ante este avance, cabe preguntarse: ¿responde este movimiento a un rechazo unánime de las instituciones y de los valores liberales?
Global public opinion is divided on Russia and China
Xavier Romero Vidal, David Evans and Roberto Foa set out the findings of their recent report which shows how public perceptions of Russia, China and the US have changed over the last 10 years, coalescing into two groups – one of which is increasingly hostile towards Russia and China and the other which views the countries more positively.
Do You Trust Your Democratic Representatives?
Despite the divisiveness riddling contemporary American politics, most political observers have come to agree on one point: that democracy in the United States stands on shaky ground. Dissatisfaction with the national political system has increased to record levels. A 2021 survey from the Pew Center suggests that as much as 85 percent of Americans say the political system needs major reform or a total overhaul.
Subjective well-being during the 2020-21 global coronavirus pandemic: Evidence from high frequency time series data
Loading metrics Open Access Peer-reviewed Research Article Roberto Stefan Foa, Mark Fabian , Sam Gilbert Roberto Stefan Foa, Mark Fabian, Sam Gilbert Published: February 16, 2022 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263570 Figures Abstract We investigate how subjective well-being varied over the course of the global COVID-19 pandemic, with a special attention to periods of lockdown.
Why Strongmen Win in Weak States
After five years of populist breakthroughs across Europe, the United States, Latin America, and South and Southeast Asia, scholars are far from discovering any “universal theory” that can explain why illiberal politicians appeal to voters in every time and place. Yet in the context of Western societies, at least, recent theories examining the respective roles of “economic grievance” and “cultural backlash” have helped to shed some light on the issue.
Lockdown had a counterintuitive effect on mood, new evidence shows
Lockdowns are seemingly vital for controlling Covid-19. Early evidence suggests they have a big effect on preventing deaths. But if we’re to keep using them, we also need to know their broader impacts. Many people are worried about lockdowns also having a negative effect on mental health. Indeed, most assessments have found that they do. But these studies usually can’t distinguish between the effects of the pandemic and of lockdowns specifically.
Wellbeing levels fell during the pandemic but improved under lockdown
(Photo: Unsplash/Imani Clovis) Indeed, most assessments have found that they do. But these studies usually can't distinguish between the effects of the pandemic and of lockdowns specifically. This is because they often only compare people's mental states from before the pandemic and after lockdowns were introduced. A decline in wellbeing might be a response to the overall pandemic.
Wellbeing levels fell during the pandemic but improved under lockdown, new research shows
Lockdowns are seemingly vital for controlling COVID-19. Early evidence suggests they have a big effect on preventing deaths. But if we’re to keep using them, we also need to know their broader impacts. Many people are worried about lockdowns also having a negative effect on mental health. Indeed, most assessments have found that they do. But these studies usually can’t distinguish between the effects of the pandemic and of lockdowns specifically.
All Stories by Yascha Mounk
The Atlantic Stop Firing the Innocent America needs a reckoning over racism. Punishing people who did not do anything wrong harms that important cause. Timothy Mulcare The Virus Will Win Americans are pretending that the pandemic is over. It certainly is not. Getty Prepare for the Roaring Twenties The human desire to socialize will survive the pandemic. Getty / The Atlantic No Testing, No Treatment, No Herd Immunity, No Easy Way Out We need to start preparing for a darker reality.
Analysis | How democracies can survive dilemmas like the coronavirus
The covid-19 pandemic presents politicians and policymakers with the most serious public health crisis this century. Global leaders are working without a road map — and their responses often alternate between denial, panic and soothing yet disingenuous messages of reassurance. This pandemic will pose a major legitimacy test — both for governments in power and for the very systems of governance on which they rely.
The Danger of Deconsolidation: The Democratic Disconnect
Select your citation format: The citizens of wealthy, established democracies are less satisfied with their governments than they have been at any time since opinion polling began. Most scholars have interpreted this as a sign of dissatisfaction with particular governments rather than with the political system as a whole. Drawing on recent public opinion data, we suggest that this optimistic interpretation is no longer plausible.
Why countries like the US, UK and South Africa have reported growing dissatisfaction with democracy
24 minutes ago Roberto Foa, The Conversation & Andrew James Klassen, The Conversation Share Tweet Email Reddit Print Share Tweet Email Reddit Print Global dissatisfaction with democracy has increased over the past 25 years, according to our recent report. Drawing upon the HUMAN Surveys project, the report covered 154 countries, with 77 countries covered continuously for the period from 1995 to 2020.
Where People Are Most Satisfied With Democracy
Roberto Foa & Andrew James Klassen The Conversation February 13, 2020 Global dissatisfaction with democracy has increased over the past 25 years, according to our recent report. Drawing upon the HUMAN Surveys project, the report covered 154 countries, with 77 countries covered continuously for the period from 1995 to 2020. These samples were possible thanks to the combination of data from over 25 sources, 3,500 national surveys, and 4 million respondents. Read Full Article »
Where People Are Satisfied With Democracy And Why
Global dissatisfaction with democracy has increased over the past 25 years, according to our recent report. Drawing upon the HUMAN Surveys project, the report covered 154 countries, with 77 countries covered continuously for the period from 1995 to 2020. These samples were possible thanks to the combination of data from over 25 sources, 3,500 national surveys, and 4 million respondents. Not surprisingly, the gloomy headline finding – rising democratic dissatisfaction – attracted the most attention.
Where people are satisfied with democracy and why
Global dissatisfaction with democracy has increased over the past 25 years, according to our recent report. Drawing upon the HUMAN Surveys project, the report covered 154 countries, with 77 countries covered continuously for the period from 1995 to 2020. These samples were possible thanks to the combination of data from over 25 sources, 3,500 national surveys, and 4 million respondents. Not surprisingly, the gloomy headline finding – rising democratic dissatisfaction – attracted the most attention.
Confidence in Democracy Is at the Lowest Point on Record
Citizens in stable democracies are supposed to be satisfied with the democratic process. Individual politicians or administrations may be unpopular. But if the public lacks commitment to democratic principles, or loses faith in democratic institutions, demagogues and opportunists may brush these aside. That’s why we were concerned when, four years ago, we found that support for democracy in the United States, as well as many other countries around the world, was nearing dangerous lows.
Confidence in Democracy Is at a Low Point
A new report shows that people around the world are collectively losing faith in democratic systems. By Yascha Mounk and Roberto Stefan Foa rtem / Shutterstock / The Atlantic About the authors: Yascha Mounk is a contributing writer at The Atlantic, an associate professor at Johns Hopkins University, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and the founder of Persuasion. Roberto Stefan Foa is a university lecturer in politics and public policy at the University of Cambridge.
The West Has a Resentment Epidemic
In 2014, the Hill newspaper rated Minnesota the second-most-liberal U.S. state. For decades, Minnesotans had reliably supported Democrats in the House, in the Senate, and for the presidency—in Ronald Reagan’s landslide presidential reelection of 1984, it was the only state in the country to support his opponent, former Minnesota Sen. Walter Mondale. Yet in 2016, America’s second-most-liberal state did something unexpected.
The West Has a Resentment Epidemic
A woman holds an electoral map as voting results come in at Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's election night event at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center Nov. 8, 2016 in New York City. Photo by Drew Angerer / Getty Images. In 2014, the Hill newspaper rated Minnesota the second-most-liberal U.S. state.
The Signs of Deconsolidation
Select your citation format: In recent years, parties and candidates challenging key democratic norms have won unprecedented popular support in liberal democracies across the globe.
India's history of hate needs retelling; secular paradigm has its own problems and requires revision
India Ajay Verghese and Roberto Stefan Foa Apr 14, 2019 12:43:37 IST Editor's Note: This article first appeared in Issue 12 of Firstpost print. In contemporary India there are few problems as intractable as that of Hindu-Muslim conflict. From 1950 to 1995, over 7,000 Indians, overwhelmingly Muslim, died in communal rioting. The 1980s in particular witnessed an upsurge in Hindu nationalist politics that led to the 1992 destruction of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya and the Gujarat riots of 2002.
India’s History of Hate Needs Retelling
India Ajay Verghese and Roberto Stefan Foa Apr 12, 2019 13:42:54 IST Firstpost print Edition In contemporary India there are few problems as intractable as that of Hindu-Muslim conflict. From 1950 to 1995, over 7,000 Indians, overwhelmingly Muslim, died in communal rioting. The 1980s in particular witnessed an upsurge in Hindu nationalist politics that led to the 1992 destruction of the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya and the Gujarat riots of 2002.
When Democracy Is No Longer the Only Path to Prosperity
As the 20th century drew to a close, democracy was on the march. The Soviet Union was gone, Nazism was a distant nightmare and every continent showed signs of moving toward free elections and the rule of law. All of humanity was finally coming to recognize the transcendent principles of democratic liberty and equality—or so many observers concluded. Looking back, the reasons for democracy’s appeal in those heady days appear more complicated.
How New Dictators Are Winning Against Liberal Democracy
At the height of World War II, Henry Luce, the founder of Time magazine, argued that the United States had amassed such wealth and power that the twentieth century would come to be known simply as “the American Century.” His prediction proved prescient: despite being challenged for supremacy by Nazi Germany and, later, the Soviet Union, the United States prevailed against its adversaries.
Democracy and trust
Diarmuid Hannigan : 08 Jul 2017 8:46:17am Truth Trust Transparency.A trilogy of strength that binds our society together, as trust advances it must be accompanied by its soul mates truth and transparency, for without transparency we can never know the truth and without the truth we cannot trust.
The Historiography of Medieval India Needs a Middle Way - The Wire
Late last year, Karnataka’s celebration of Tipu Jayanti (the birthday of Tipu Sultan, ruler of Mysore from 1783 to 1799) was widely protested by Sangh Parivar activists. In the course of an altercation, one VHP activist was killed.
Yes, people really are turning away from democracy
We have been surprised by the scale and intensity of attention our work has garnered around the world since the New York Times profiled it last week. Perhaps we shouldn’t have been. Our research, after all, helped contextualize the seismic shifts we’ve seen in some of the world’s long-standing democracies over the past year — and comes to some rather startling findings. Public attitudes toward democracy, we show, have soured over time.
It’s the Globalization, Stupid
The votes for Brexit in the United Kingdom and for Donald Trump in the United States have confounded foreign-policy commentators the world over. How could the world’s two great Anglo-Saxon democracies, for centuries the leaders and advocates of a global, rules-based international trade regime, now be leading a path toward isolationism and mercantilism?
Opinion: Trump’s lasting impact on U.S. democracy
The rise of Republican candidate Donald Trump has confounded scores of media pundits, think-tanks and members of the U.S. political establishment — all of whom repeatedly predicted the demise billionaire’s presidential ambitions.
The Danger of Deconsolidation: The Democratic Disconnect
The citizens of wealthy, established democracies are less satisfied with their governments than they have been at any time since opinion polling began. Most scholars have interpreted this as a sign of dissatisfaction with particular governments rather than with the political system as a whole. Drawing on recent public opinion data, we suggest that this optimistic interpretation is no longer plausible.
The Historiography of Medieval India Needs a Middle Way
Late last year, Karnataka’s celebration of Tipu Jayanti (the birthday of Tipu Sultan, ruler of Mysore from 1783 to 1799) was widely protested by Sangh Parivar activists. In the course of an altercation, one VHP activist was killed.
7 worrying charts about the state of democracy in America (and beyond)
A lot of Americans are viscerally angry at the political system. They hate Washington, they don’t trust politicians, and they are increasingly willing to vote for populist outsiders—like Donald Trump. But we usually assume that for all of their disgust with political reality, they remain as loyal to the ideal of democracy as previous generations of Americans. According to recent polling data, that is simply not the case.
Secularism Is Not Weakened By Acknowleding Tipu and Aurangzeb Also Did Bad Things
Recently, the renaming of Delhi’s Aurangzeb Road and Karnataka’s celebration of Tipu Jayanti have ignited furious debates within India and thrown the country’s past once again into the spotlight. Was Aurangzeb, the sixth Mughal emperor, a sectarian fanatic who “destroyed the Idea of India”? Or was he instead an enlightened despot who persecuted Hindus only “as punishment for political opposition”? And was Tipu Sultan, the ‘Tiger of Mysore,’ an Islamic tyrant, a valiant anti-colonialist, or both?
Across the Globe, a Growing Disillusionment With Democracy
The generational differences are striking. When the World Values Survey asked Americans how important it was for them to live in a democracy, citizens born before World War II were the most adamant. On a scale of one to ten, 72 percent assigned living in a democracy a ten, the highest possible value. Among many of their children and grandchildren, however, democracy no longer commands the same devotion.
Why Strongmen Win in Weak States
Democratization and State-Building To understand the rise of authoritarian strongmen in developing democracies, then, it is important to recognize the divergence of state-building trajectories and democratization trajectories over recent decades.
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